Crystal Clear Bitter Night
by moonlightBuffy
Summary: Even though the two couldn't be more different, circumstances makes them see themselves, and each other, in different lights. 90210 fic. I know it's not the right category but there's no 90210 so... Naomi/Ryan.
1. Something's Starting

**Name:** Crystal Clear Bitter Night  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Pairing:** Naomi/Ryan  
**Summary:** Ryan is struggling to balance his appearance and his personality. Naomi is struggling to come to terms with a constantly disappointing surrounding. Even though the two couldn't be more different, circumstances makes them see themselves, and each other, in different lights.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own 90210. I do not know any secrets or any grand plans that will happen in the future. This fan fiction is merely the product of my own imagination (and the dynamic I've seen so far on the show) and this is basically how I want it to turn out.  
**Note:** I started writing this after watching 1x01 so this might not be consistent with anything that might happen in the future or anything like that, but since I know some of my friends might appreciate this I thought I'd share it with all of you. If you feel like leaving a note or something in terms of feedback, that would be lovely.

* * *

The first time Ryan Matthews found drugs, he thought he'd found God. His new friends handed him a joint and without really thinking about it, he took it in his hand and took a blow. There was a nervous, jittery feeling resting in his stomach as he realized that he was doing something _forbidden_. The talk about drugs had reached the point where it was considered a taboo and hell if his parents ever mentioned it over the dinner table. They were too proper, too perfect to even be associated with the idea.

"How does it feel?" Nick asked beside him, grinning like a hyena.

A small, lazy smile came over Ryan's features as he handed the joint to someone else. "Just fine." He never said it felt like heaven.

/

Resting his cheek on his left hand, Ryan fought the boredom within him as he sat across from Kelly Taylor – major hottie and somewhat easy if rumors were right – and pretended to listen attentively as she spoke to him about her son. Sammy, Tommy or something like that. He nodded, appearing to be listening while he in reality was fighting the urge to sleep.

God this woman was boring. Ordinary. Totally not living up to the hype.

"Yeah," he said when he noticed that there was in the pause in the monologue, "I definitely know what you mean."

Now Kelly stared at him as though he'd just said something completely unexpected. Shit. What had she been talking about? He should learn to pay more attention. But he couldn't help it if the woman was a complete drag.

"You do?" she asked, tilting her head as though she was trying see him from a different light, "'Cause you don't really seem like the type."

Now he was almost becoming a bit offended. He was _the_ type. "What do you mean?" Thankfully, his voice conveyed nothing of it.

"You just don't seem like the kind of person who has a lot of experience with... kids."

A warm, genuine laugh filled Ryan. He dealt with kids every day. "I work at a high school."

"Yeah, but they're more like... young adults, especially these days."

"Yeah, well..." Damn, he couldn't find anything to say. "I suppose you're right. I don't know." What had she been talking about? Thankfully his aloof, dorky secret persona was the perfect cover. She smiled at him but if Kelly Taylor had any notion of what he was really like... let's just say that she wouldn't be laughing at him.

/

He worked very hard to attain an image of himself that mirrored the expectations of the society around him but truth be told, he had a bit of a Peter Pan complex. He didn't want to grow up. He didn't want to be _responsible_ and _mature_ and all those other words that were just synonyms for boring. He was still young with his whole life ahead of him and wasting it by living by the rules just seemed like he was wasting his potential. But that didn't mean he didn't care about his occupation. Being a teacher was something he enjoyed. He liked standing in front a bunch of impressionable teenagers and giving them a different perspective of the world and maybe try to open their eyes a little. Truth be told, he hated rich kids. Although some did inspire some sympathy and concern – after all – he was human. Like Adrianna. The signs of her drug abuse were clear as daylight to him, but he couldn't raise any concern to his peers without risking the exposure of his own vices.

And then he would definitely lose all chance of teaching in front of a class ever again.

And while they were those like Adrianna who inspired some sort of compassion, there were also those who seemed to conjure up the side of him that he tried not to advertise. Students like Naomi Clark. The girl was the definition of a spoiled brat and he wanted nothing more than to take her down a notch or two from her perfect world where she was everyone's princess. Tormenting her was like his own little pet project and one of the reasons why he didn't become bored out of his mind every time he came to work.

True, it was quite pathetic that tormenting a teenager would be this much fun but Naomi she was, in contrast to her surrounding, spirited and _fun_. Unexpected. To be honest, the daily torment on his part had led him to respect her. She bore it better than most and did not seem visibly affected by his preferential treatment, as he liked to call it, and it seemed more like banter than anything else.

And she _was_ attractive. Hell, God could crave his eyes out and he would still see it. A part of him thought it was like throwing pearls to swine, seeing her dance around high school boys and that Ward boy especially. They had no idea how to handle a woman of Naomi's caliber. They were more out for satisfying their own needs than anyone else's. They treated her like a blonde Barbie, which was what she was slowly turning into, and had no idea of the wit that resided in that brain of hers. She was an intelligent woman but sold herself short by hanging around such pigs.

Of course, she had no idea what went on in that brain of his but it was just as well. Although sometimes it seemed like she was beginning to catch on. Not that he minded. It would all be terribly interesting.

/

"Naomi, could I talk to you for a sec?"

The blonde bombshell turned around, a flicker of annoyance passing over her demeanor before she recomposed herself and walked up to him. Ryan sat on his desk, leaning forward slightly as he looked into her eyes, fighting the urge to smile. He quickly glanced behind her seeing the students quickly disappearing from the classroom, leaving the two of them alone.

"What?" Naomi asked, her eyebrows raising a little to display her irritation before resuming their original position. Sometimes it was as though he could read her like a book.

Leaning back a little, Ryan placed his hand on his cheek to give off the impression that he was contemplating something. He hid the smile behind his hand. "You don't seem like yourself lately," he said finally, "Is everything ok?"

Naomi, however, wasn't fooled. She sighed, sending him a glare. "Ha, as if you care."

"You're still angry about that paper?"

"Oh _please_," Naomi commented, "I have better things to do with my time."

"I'm sure."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

Fuck. Yet another slip up. He had to start teaching himself to not think out loud. It always seemed to land him in the trickiest situations. But it didn't matter. He always had these kinds of conversations with Naomi.

"Nothing. I'm just saying that you don't seem that academically… motivated. At least not like your sister. Where was it she went? Yale?"

"What's all this crap about my sister?"

"I'm just saying that you have potential to get really good grades if you apply yourself."

"I _am_ applying myself, but you seem to enjoy busting my ass for no apparent reason." Ha, she was right about that.

"Harsh words, Naomi. Got anything to back that up?"

"Screw you."

_Gladly._

He grinned, despite himself.

/

"Ryan, I got a kid today who says you're harassing her." Kelly walked into the classroom, her arms crossed and a sever tone in her voice.

Ryan didn't even dignify the accusation with a reaction; he continued to look through the essays the students had handed in earlier in the day. Without looking up, he asked: "Is the student Naomi Clark?"

"So it's true?" Kelly approached the desk.

_Only partly._ "No," he looked up, letting the thin smile that he often used when trying to appear geeky and amiable, "Of course not."

"Because she made some pretty convincing arguments." Damn, she was really pissed. He decided to put the essays aside.

"Come on Kelly; don't think I have something better to do with my time than to make life miserable for a seventeen year old?"

"She's sixteen."

"And? Honestly, Kelly…"

There was a pause. "Ryan, what is with you lately? You're acting really strangely."

Ryan sighed. "Oh really? 'Cause I don't feel any different." He was beginning to tire of her. She was constantly talking to him about responsibility, maturity and was constantly acting as though she had a stick up her ass. Although the sex was pretty great. But even that had an expiration date.

"See? That's _exactly_ what I'm talking about. What's going on with you? You're constantly being… cold and mean and… I don't know what else. The other day you made Sammy cry for Christ's sake."

"Look, Kelly, if you have something to say to me just say it and don't drag Naomi Clark into this, would you please?"

"That's not what I'm doing, Ryan."

"Oh really? Then how come we're standing here talking about us and not about Naomi?"

Kelly fell silent. But not for long. "What's _wrong_ with you?"

_A lot of things actually. But the main thing being that you're coming in here and being holier than thou on me._

"I told you Kelly, I'm _fine_. I don't understand why you keep nagging that on me."

"Ryan, I care about you," _You do? How nice._ "I just want to help you."

"Help me? It's almost as though you want there to be something wrong with me. Am I like one of your students? Do you really have such an acute need to fix everything?"

"You know what," Kelly sighed, "Don't even bother coming over after work. We're over." With that, the blonde marched out of his office, not even bothering to look behind her. Ryan watched her go and found himself not caring considerably. He sent her a last look as her frame disappeared from his view and recommenced his task of correcting essays. He took up a new one from the pile and saw the name 'Naomi Clark' stare back at him.

TBC


	2. Because Someone Might Surprise You

"I've heard you have some… remarks about how I lead my class, Ms Clark."

The weekend was now over and instead of groveling by Kelly's feet the entire weekend he'd gone out with a few friends of his and had a good time. A really good time. Sadly, it left him with a lingering headache and a want for more. Which quite tired his patience and seeing Kelly throwing dirty glances in the hallway didn't help things. It wasn't easy being Mr. Congeniality where there was someone who hated his guts and had, despite it all, good reason to.

Naomi threw him a glance, sitting back at a desk, appearing as though he'd just said that it was snowing in Aspen. It was refreshing to be around someone who didn't have an obsessive need to _talk_ about everything and to _acknowledge _the plainly obvious.

"You heard about that?" she asked, smiling broadly but the smile soon disappeared and she proceeded by staring at him as though she knew exactly what he was about, "So what of it?"

In an indifferent, official voice, he said simply: "If you have any comments about my teaching in the future I would appreciate it if you come to me with them instead of gossiping them around to the staff," He was extremely annoyed by it, especially because Kelly was most certainly going to voice her… theories to the principal and that would mean, since they were so close, that he would be more closely monitored than before. "Only because you're in high school doesn't mean I am. What you say does have repercussions."

Naomi laughed. "So you and Ms Taylor are hot and heavy after all? I heard rumors about it but… honestly, are teachers really allowed to date? I thought you all had to assign yourself to a convent or something before coming here."

Ryan smiled. Her wit was clearly underestimated. "Or get married. But that's pretty much the same thing."

"You know what, Matthews?" Naomi asked, leaning forward, only being about half a meter away, "You're so full of shit."

"Why thank you, Ms Clark. So you wouldn't mind if I gave your last essay a C, would you?"

He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help himself.

Naomi flared up, the anger clearly visible on her face and for a moment, Ryan thought she'd slap him like she'd done to the Ward boy. But she didn't, unfortunately. Instead she sent him a glare and stormed out the classroom, declaring that he was impossible. Ryan watched her leave, grinning at her. He was going to give her an A though. It'd been a surprisingly good essay, and he was pretty certain it wasn't copied.

/

The next time he saw Naomi, she came into class looking like someone who had just jumped out of a fashion magazine. For once her curly hair had been subdued and she'd straightened it, which was surprising and he wasn't sure if it was entirely something that suited her. He'd seen her with her curly hair too many times so it'd sort of become part of her look. But she did look classy, very much so in fact. She looked more adult somehow… or maybe that was just her makeup talking.

As she walked in and took her place, Ryan's eyes swept over the room, noting that the boy George lingered his eye at his classmate a little bit longer than necessary whereas Naomi, as always, had no idea he existed. _Interesting_. He fought the urge to comment on her sudden appearance and managed not to in the end. After all – she wasn't late. Sometimes Ryan had the feeling that she showed up late just to spite him.

Not that he minded.

"Alright, everyone," he said, kicking off the day's first lesson, "Take your seats and we shall begin." He leaned over his desk, giving each of them a glance. Naomi stared at him defiantly, leaning back in her chair as though she was about to watch a show.

The idea of rocking that superior demeanor little was almost too tempting but thankfully he managed to suppress that urge till later. Right now he had a class to teach and everything else aside, he did love what he did for a living. It felt important.

"Did you all read the assignment for today?" His eyes scanned the crowd. Half of them were already asleep; a quarter was looking around confused over his sentence. Did they really have homework? The rest were nodding calmly. Ryan couldn't help but smile. "Come on people, I specifically said last week that to this lesson you had to read three chapters of the book." He took up his own copy and waved it in the air, hoping some of them would get the idea.

A passive murmur passed over the classroom. Most teachers probably threw a fit when the students didn't turn things in on time but Ryan wasn't one of them. In high school he'd been far from the model student so it felt hypocritical of him to get angry over something he did himself.

"Okay, it seems like some of you haven't read this…" Ryan scratched his chin, suddenly remembering that he'd forgotten to shave. Again. He needed to think of an alternative approach to this mess. _So much for that lesson plan…_ He looked up again and saw sheer terror in some of their eyes. Okay, today he'd be the good cop. "Tell you what," he continued, "Pair yourselves into groups of three or four and discuss the book based on these questions," he gave a bunch of papers to the girl on the front row and watched as they were all given out to each student, "Hopefully there'll be at least two of you in your group that has actually _read_ the book."

Some students giggled. Sarcasm was always a big crowd pleaser.

He sat back on his desk, not bothering to place himself on the chair. He wanted to be accessible in case there were any questions. He'd had too many teachers as a kid who preached behind a desk and that was all the wrong ways to go about it. He'd rather sit on his desk and participate in his lesson rather than observe it. High school kids might be filled with hormones but most of them weren't stupid. He could learn as much from his students as they could from him. That was the golden rule of society after all.

"Mr. Matthews," Naomi raised her perfectly manicured nails into the air.

Ryan bit his lip, not missing the little spark in Naomi's eye. This better be good…

Around them, people began to glance at them. The verbal abuse that Naomi had to endure English class was a source of great pleasure for her enemies and for her friends it was something that they observed so that they could talk about it during lunch later. He knew very well how teenagers worked.

"Yes, Naomi?"

"I met Ms Taylor in the hallway and she said that she wanted a word after class."

The room filled with a typical 'Ooooohhh' sound and the good mood that Ryan had been determined to have all day took a serious blow. Of course. Fucking perfect, wasn't it? He looked down briefly not to let his annoyance show, recomposed himself and looked up again, straight at Naomi.

"Okay, I'll remember that," he turned to the rest of the class. "Now finish those questions otherwise I'll make you write it as homework and we wouldn't want that would we?" He walked around to his desk and sat down on the chair. He needed to think.

/

The night had always been his friend, as far as Ryan was concerned. Most of the stuff that was done in the dark of night never saw the light of day, figuratively speaking. His secrets were kept secret and he was free to live his life as he pleased. As long he made certain not to go to the same club too often. He was familiar with the Beverly Hills scene so whenever he went he was probably considered a regular but he made certain to vary his hang-out spots. Today, he was meeting Charles and Lenny for a drink. And a smoke. But the latter was such a given that Ryan never considered it anymore.

The club was filled almost to the breaking point. The music was screaming out of the speakers and everyone was running around in designer clothes or with expensive drinks in their hands, pushing themselves around in the crowd, looking for their group. Ryan, on the other hand, did not have any drinks and as far as he was concerned, he didn't belong to a group. Charles and Lenny in their entire glory were, for all intents and purposes, assholes. Brainless assholes, but what didn't one endure in the name of childhood friendship?

He was almost by the corner, trying to squeeze himself between a few tables when suddenly he felt himself bump into a table. It wouldn't be that sever if it hadn't been that when he looked down his eyes came upon Naomi.

What was it was this girl? Was she _everywhere_ or was he simply unconsciously stalking her? Or the other way around?

Preparing himself to continue about his business, because he _really _didn't feel like talking to a student on his day off, he suddenly noticed that her eyes were red and cheeks were slightly flushed. She was visibly upset about something and as much as it pained him to admit it and no matter how much he liked making her life just a little bit more difficult, he couldn't quite ignore the fact that she looked so fragile.

Maybe it was a bit of curiosity, a pinch of sympathy and a bit of respect that made him stay put.

Naomi, however, pretended to be oblivious to the fact that she was in a noisy club, crying by herself. "Oh, it's you," she said dryly, tilting her head upwards as though it would cheer her up. She tried her best to treat him like garbage but maybe it was because she was so vulnerable that Ryan got the impression that she rather have someone she could trash than sit by herself.

"Here to bitch about another paper?" she asked, trying as discretely as possible to wipe her tears.

Wow, it seemed to be quite serious. The realization dawned on him and as though it was muscle memory he sat down opposite Naomi before he had a chance to reflect. He wasn't Naomi Clark's biggest fan by a mile, but it was cruel to just ignore her. Besides, Charles and Lenny weren't even there yet and Naomi was about the most entertaining company he could find at the moment.

"What're you doing?" Naomi said, glaring at him through the glitter of her tears. Even though the lightning was dim they were clearly visible in the dark. "Go and be a loser somewhere else, will you?"

She took a sip of her drink, alcoholic no doubt, and tried to not-so-gracefully ignore him by looking in another direction. Ryan smiled. He had to give her credit. She wasn't going down without a fight, was she?

They sat in silence for a while. As Naomi realized that he wasn't going anywhere, she began to look more in his direction, but she still tried to not to look at him. She probably wanted to be alone, but if she did she'd chosen a seriously fucked up place to be alone in. They continued a few moments more in the same silent manner, which was only interrupted when he himself ordered a drink, before Naomi decided to acknowledge his presence.

"Why are men such assholes?" She looked up at him again, looking straight at him, her voice trembling and Ryan imagined that it took great strength for her not to break down. In a few moments he'd gotten more respect for her than he'd ever had in a year.

He did not rush the question, but rather took a moment to think about it. What was he supposed to say? 'Sorry kid, that's life' or was he supposed to give her a more hopeful sort of answer? Truth be told, he'd rather avoid conversations like these since he was terribly bad at them. Not to mention that he belonged to the category that believed that words weren't much of a comfort.

"Don't know. Flawed DNA?"

Naomi's lips curled upwards slightly but it was not yet a smile. She looked down in her drink, creating circles with the little umbrella. "Good one." Her voice seemed to have lost all glow and force.

Ryan took a large sip of his drink. Vodka, lovely stuff. "You realize that's probably the first decent thing you've ever said to me?"

Naomi looked at him, her eyes indifferent, as though she told him that if he was looking for excuses he better look somewhere else. Whatever, it wasn't as though he was looking for one. Most students worshipped the ground he walked on and thought he was all that, so it was nice to have at least one in the audience that was constantly skeptical.

Naomi took the drink in her hand, sweeping it all down in one sip. "I need another one," she said, "And if you stop me, I might just kill you." With that she walked over to the bar. Ryan leaned back, observing the scene. Well, he wasn't stopping her. It was her life.

After an hour or two, the initial awkwardness of getting wasted with your teacher subsided and while drinking they began to share stories. Not about themselves, no because that was against the Rules, but of people around them. Mostly of how people around them were so unbelievably stupid and all the crap stuff they got themselves up to. Neither of them had any expectations of the other and before Ryan really had the chance to realize the fact that he was talking with a student, he'd begun talking about Charles, Lenny and the rest of his asspack of friends and the time where they had decided to drive, drink and party all at once and they had ended up in a ditch. Okay, that had happened more than once, but he wasn't telling Naomi that.

"You know what, Ryan," Naomi said, putting the drink aside for a minute, laughing, "You're not quite the loser I pegged you out to be."

"Likewise."

They both laughed. He refilled his own drink. At this point he'd given up ordering _drinks_ and had progressed to bottles. However, he never refilled Naomi's drink. She was still not quite allowed to drink and it was up to her whether or not she was to have another one, so that was her job to fill her own. Naomi reached over for the vodka, refilling her glass.

There was an unspoken agreement that they'd split the tab later.

"Haha. At school, people _adooore _me," Naomi said, laughing as she watched the alcohol land in her glass, "They wanna _be_ me." The bottle landed on the table with a large _thump _on the table. For a moment it looked as though it would fall over, but thankfully, it didn't. Ryan looked at her as she spoke, shaking his head.

"You're telling me. 'Oh, Mister Matthews, you're such a _goooooood _teacher. Can you give me an A because I _really _deserve it'."

Naomi raised her eyebrows, still laughing. "Seriously? That's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard."

She refilled her glass.

"Most people tend to be." Ryan began to search his pocket. Damn, he wanted a smoke. The alcohol had, besides making a bit more disoriented, also made him crave a good smoke. The years of combining drugs and drinks left its marks.

"You lookin' for something?" Naomi asked, staring at his hands roaming around in his pockets.

Fuck. The only reason he was even here tonight to begin with was because he was out and Lenny was going to give him some. Double fuck.

Suddenly, Naomi suddenly dove into her purse, searching for a bit before fishing out a perfect smoke. Sure, it was a regular one and not his usual preference, but it was better than nothing. He raised an eyebrow at his table-sharing friend. "You smoke?" he asked, sounding suspicious.

"No," Naomi said flatly, "Just at parties. I just keep them in my bag in case anyone else does."

Ryan nodded, taking the cigarette. "I'll be back in a while then."

TBC


	3. The Day After

**Note:** So, definitely not my best update yet. I apologize. I'll try to make a better one later.

* * *

It was already pitch-black outside. The cool air seemed to freeze every muscle in his face but it was worth it. He took a long blow of the cigarette, watching the grey smoke fly out in the air. This was good. Not heaven, but as close as. Not quite the high he was going for, but one had to make due. He looked down at his watch. Lenny and Charles would probably have been at the club and left already, so it was too late to look them up right now. He made a mental note to call them tomorrow.

Glancing at the door, Ryan found himself musing on the idea that he'd just spent a couple of hours in the company of the ice princess herself. He was comfortably numb, as any self-respecting half-drunk should be, and it'd been a surprising pleasant evening. If now the words pleasant and Naomi Clark could be put together in one sentence. No, he wasn't going there. Instead he took another blow of his cigarette. Worth noting though, was that the little curly half-adult seemed to be spending more and more time on her own rather in the company of her adoring friends. Solitude was always good, in certain amounts. Too much of it, then you were in trouble.

Pushing his back from the wall, Ryan decided to go back in. To his surprise, he found Naomi exactly where he'd left her. Only she was surrounded by another bottle of some alcoholic substance. Ryan was the last person on Earth who ought to preach about restraint or anything like that, but if she kept going like this she'd throw up in a pair of bushes somewhere and he for one did not want to drop her off at her place because she was unable to drive. It attracted too much attention and raised too many questions for his liking.

"Ryan!" Naomi looked up, grinning. Even though her voice was cheerful she still looked sad.

Thankfully, she wasn't too drunk to drive. Yet.

"You might wanna take it easy with the alcohol," Ryan commented.

Naomi looked up, glaring now instead of pretending to be happy. Somehow no one managed to nail the definition of angry as well as Naomi, which was quite amusing.

"Give me a reason," she dared, her eyes narrowing dangerously. It was apparent that she did not like being told what to do.

"Tomorrow's a school night," Ryan replied, unable to hide his own amusement. That had to be the worst reason ever. At least coming from him.

Instead of biting his head off, Naomi snorted at him, rolled her eyes and demonstratively took another shot of her drink. While doing it, she glanced at him as though she dared him to disapprove, but instead Ryan simply sat there, not stopping her from taking another sip. He could see a flicker of surprise pass over Naomi's face briefly before she put the drink back on the table.

"You're going to get a nasty headache tomorrow," he said dryly, as though he was commenting on the weather. Tomorrow would be an interesting day…

/

Getting up the following morning had been difficult. Even though Ryan had taken things relatively easy the night before, his head was still pounding as though someone had put a drill through it. Despite of everything he'd had to call a cab for Naomi at the end of their little… encounter. She hadn't really been drunk out her mind, but drunk enough to not drive home.

Now he was practically leaning over his desk, his head being filled with at least three aspirins. He felt like crap and possibly looked like crap. Not even the longest shower in his life helped. He still felt as though he'd been out partying all night, which was what he'd done, to be honest. Although he'd most sat there and pored various alcoholic beverages into his system while watching a sixteen year old do the same. The board would not be particularly happy if they found that out. He had to make sure that Naomi didn't under any circumstances… spread their little heart-to-heart to anyone else. Although, he smiled to himself, if he knew her right the last thing she would admit it would be to spend a night drinking with a teacher. He really hoped he was right about her vanity, because otherwise he could be in serious trouble.

As the students flowed in from places that he didn't even know where possible and the classroom slowly filled to the point and to Ryan's surprise he noticed that he was supposed to have started his class five minutes ago. Scanning the crowd, he quickly noted that Naomi wasn't there.

One drink too many I bet, he thought to himself and grinned.

"Okay, good morning, I trust you all had a _really_ good weekend," his response was some dead laughter. "Come on guys. Now that's really pathetic. Can you give me a little bit more enthusiasm?" The crowd laughed again, some of them mocking him, others finding him naturally amusing. He had no idea how, his jokes were even crap.

He took up a copy of a book from his desk, holding Catcher In the Rye in his hand, as the door opened and Naomi came in. As usually looking like a million dollars.

"Naomi, how nice to see yo-" Surprise hit him in the face as he saw that kid George follow after her, eyeing his companion in a manner that he found slightly unsuitable for a classroom. Some in the class began gossiping among themselves. Naomi, on the other hand, pretended to be completely oblivious but he could see that she was very well aware that everyone was talking.

_Interesting plot twist,_ Ryan thought with mild amusement. Never in a million years would he picture someone like Naomi hooking up with a brain-dead money like George. It just seemed a bit... desperate.

"George, how lovely to see you." He smiled, while mentally trying to figure out ways to give him detention for life. It wasn't that he'd obviously hooked up with Naomi – when did the bugger have time for that? – or that he was late. Ryan just sincerely disliked the kid as much as one could without being totally obvious about it. He just had an attitude problem that seemed to be chronic. "Now take a seat and I'll see you at detention."

Some of George's more idiotic so-called "friends" laughed and gave George a pat on the back as though it was some sort of accomplishment. Ryan sighed. Primitive hormone bombs. He suppressed a comment about expressing repressed sexual feelings later and turned to the cover of Catcher in the Rye. Oh right, he wasn't just there for the comic relief.

"Catcher in the Rye, everyone," Ryan said, gazing out over the crowd once more, being determined to avoid Naomi's eye, "Say hello to your next book."

Allowing himself some indulgences, he glanced briefly at Naomi as he scanned the crowd. There was something in her blue eyes that he didn't quite recognize but as he saw her own copy of the red book in front of her, he didn't really know what to say. Some people never seemed to cease to surprise you.

He carried on.

/

"Naomi, a word?" Ryan sighed, his headache was back again. And he needed another smoke. Fucking Lenny hadn't returned his call yet. He supposed he was still a bit sore about being stood up yesterday, but for what it was worth, Ryan had actually been physically present, even if he hadn't gone out of his way to search for him.

Naomi parted from her friends and to Ryan continuing surprise; there wasn't a comment, not a face and not even a gesture to indicate that she was surprised. Compared to the wreck he'd found at the bar yesterday, this Naomi was rather… calm. Not that he was surprised. He if anyone understood the importance of appearances. Not that she knew just how similar they were in a way. But then again, he barely knew anything about her so it was really too early to draw any comparisons between them. However, he was intrigued.

"Yes, Mr. Matthews?" She adjusted the books in her arms and ended her question with one of those smiles that were so false that it made Ryan nauseous. He smiled to himself. She might even give Adrianna a run for her money. She was a pretty decent actress.

"No hang over then?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Naomi shifted as she stood, looking around the classroom at the empty desks and the sun shining outside. Ryan scratched his chin. He still hadn't shaved.

"So? It's not like it was the first time I had a drink." Naomi laughed and Ryan grinned. He'd guessed as much.

"Am I gonna get detention?"

The question seemed to break the air somehow, almost cutting through it with a knife. Ryan tilted his head, studying her. She was an interesting specimen."Guess, unless you wanna plead special circumstances." Sarcasm wasn't a tone in someone's voice, it was a way of life, Ryan decided then and there.

The teenager sighed, frustrated and rolled her eyes at him. Now, Ryan wasn't having any of that. She was acting like a spoiled brat, which was really beneath her and a waste of his own time. The patience he felt she'd gained the other day, vanished and Ryan spent the rest of the talk with Naomi thinking that no matter how much potential she showed, she was always going to aim for the bottom of the barrell.

The next time he saw her, things seemed to have calmed down considerably. Her attire was more… acceptable and her fling with George seemed to have ended as quickly as it'd started because if the word on the street was right, Naomi had just used him to make Ethan jealous – again – but apparently the former boyfriend had fancied himself in love with the new girl, and therefore made any reunion impossible with his former flame. A fact which seemed to make her more inclined to solitude.

It'd been a rare occasion where he didn't have any classes and everyone else were, so chances were that she was skipping. He found her on the grounds by a stone table where a lot of the kids liked to eat lunch but now it was completely deserted. Aside from Naomi that was. And himself.

Even though he couldn't see her face, he could hear her sobbing.

Ryan, hit with another pang of sympathy, asked: "Naomi, are you okay?"

The sobbing ceased momentarily, followed by some heavy breathing. "Just leave me alone." The voice was broken, meek.

Ryan bit his lip, keeping himself from saying something that might infuriate her unnecessarily, as he couldn't help but wonder if she really was as weak as she seemed. Every other time he saw her she seemed to have a reason for crying. Ryan took a seat next to her, not really looking at her, pretending to look for birds in the trees.

Besides, he was in the mood for some entertainment.

She continued to choke her tears for a while but soon he could feel her glancing at him, cheeks covered with tears. At first she didn't say anything at all, merely kept stealing glances as though she was expecting something to be said by him.

"What're you doing here?"

"I don't really have class right now and I was walking around… Besides, I wanted to make sure you got home safely the other day."

She looked at him, bewildered. "The other day?"

"Yeah, you know – the drink."

Naomi snorted. "That was like two weeks ago."

If anyone asked Ryan later why he was actually being kind, he'd claim temporary insanity. Besides, he had nothing better to do. And he still needed to make sure that she didn't go to Kelly with any more of her sob stories – the last thing he wanted to be was fired – so he had to earn some good points.

"Ever too late to ask, right?" He glanced at her briefly and their eyes met. She seemed a little bit better, or maybe that was just what she wanted him to believe. "Besides, you weren't too bad of a company." He smiled, it was totally fake of course, but he couldn't help but be surprised that not all of it had been a total lie.

"Stop trying to make me feel better," Naomi commented, wiping her tears.

"Why? Am I succeeding?" Sometimes playing the dorky teacher was easier than others.

Naomi smiled, this time meaning it, and shook her head. "Don't think so, Matthews. However, if I could skip that essay thing that you talked about in class…"

"Afraid not, Naomi. Better luck next time."

She didn't ask about it again.

After sometime of just sitting on that cold stone bench, Naomi turned to him and asked: "You don't… Forget about it."

Curiosity got the better of him, turning to her. "No, what?"

Naomi sighed, rolling her eyes, no doubt finding whatever she was about to say incredibly difficult. "You don't happen to know a good bar for just getting wasted, do you? I'd go to the usual but they're kinda…"

"Packed with all your friends? Say no more, I know just the place. It's this little bar by the harbor called-"

"Ugh! Don't tell me anymore. Sounds hideous."

Ryan looked at her. "Appearances can be deceiving."

"Okay, I'll give it a try sometime."

To Ryan's surprise, she didn't seem totally opposed to the idea. Maybe he could get through to her after all? It wasn't a ridiculous idea. But then again, they could have this conversation and five minutes from now she'd go back to her normal, bratty self and Ryan would be left to think of this moment as temporary insanity. Maybe she was just being cooperative because there weren't any other people stepping up to the task.

"Great," Ryan said, suddenly remembering his place. He wasn't supposed to give bar recommendations, much less to a student during office hours. However, he gave her a small smile and as he was going away, he could almost hear something that sounded like thanks coming from Naomi, but he was sure that was just the wind...


End file.
